Published in The Startup·Dec 9, 2020If I Had Known; A Startup Founder ReflectionEver since I started my own company, I’ve read every blog post I can get my hands on about failure. I thought if I read enough about how things went wrong for others, I’d have the ability to avoid disappointment myself. I’d like to begin by saying that my company…Startup14 min read
Published in The Startup·Jul 26, 2019Our app launched today. An honest take on the two-years to get here.730 days ago I had an idea. Today, it’s in the app store. I just lived through the montage; the period in the movie that looks almost glamorous. For 30 seconds you see the founder, typing away in a garage, taking meetings, looking frustrated. …Startup8 min read
Published in Startup Pulse·Oct 21, 2018SILICON VALLEY CAME TO CHARLOTTE, COULDN’T FIND A LEADERA group of 10 Charlotte-based founders and investors, an Ohio congressman and four investors from Silicon Valley and New York sat around a large table at an Italian restaurant late October 16. A party you might only experience in San Francisco was brought to our backyard through a tweet. Wanting…Venture Capital8 min read
May 13, 2018An entrepreneur’s MotherI want to preface this post by saying that every mother is “doing it right” if they provide their child with two things: love and support. The other parenting decisions a mother makes are pretty small in the shadow of this. I was speaking with a gentleman at a networking…Parenting6 min read
Published in Startup Pulse·Apr 1, 2018Inside Fundraising Outside Silicon Valley | Part 2: Advice, Handling Feedback & SexismThis post is one part of a series focusing on a first-time founders experience fundraising. Read the Introduction and Part I here. March was the month I went out of my way to be judged. I wanted to test different styles of pitching and start putting our company, Vishion…Startup9 min read
Published in Startup Pulse·Mar 15, 2018Inside Fundraising Outside Silicon Valley | Part I: Initial Experiment ReactionsThis post is only one part of a series focusing on a first-time founders experience fundraising. Read the initial post about my efforts here. Going to the Silicon Valley to Gain Attention I decided three months ago that I would use my miles and book a trip to Silicon Valley to start pitching Vishion to investors. …Startup5 min read
Published in Startup Pulse·Mar 12, 2018Inside Fundraising from a Silicon Valley Outsider (Introduction)The Experiment As a first-time founder of a startup, I’ve been preparing for my first fundraising experience by listening to podcasts, reading countless books about best practices and attending events to hear different entrepreneurs’ experiences. …Startup5 min read
Feb 19, 2018Founding a tech startup without technical skillsThe idea of starting your own business is daunting on its own, but creating technology without ever writing a line of code can make the entrepreneurship mountain seem insurmountable. Only a few days after seeing the prototype of my company’s mobile app, I want to share how I built the…Startup10 min read